The present invention relates to computer software, and more particularly, but not exclusively, relates to providing a browser-based application.
Traditional Internet applications are structured as a series of hyperlinked documents, which may or may not be generated dynamically. Such applications typically differ substantially from client-server applications in that the user interface is generated by the web server and transmitted to the web browser on the client for rendering. This results in the user experiencing changes of context and delays while documents are received. Web applications typically provide limited application functionality (e.g. no MDI type interface available) compared to traditional client-server native operating system applications (e.g. Windows executables).
Some web applications solve one or more of these problems using ActiveX controls or Java controls, but such applications are not acceptable in many environments due to security considerations. Also, frame based applications help overcome the frequent changes in context to some degree, but they still present a wait time as the frame page is reloaded from the server.
In view of such limitations, there is a need for further advancements in this area.